Official: What are your real world MPG Numbers

[T76]

According to the Milage Keeper app I'm getting 26 MPG
2013 RS auto HB, mostly city driving, 100% stock, cheap gas

Any suggestions for improvement?

City driving.That's the answer.Just keep your right foot from going thru the floor and hope for the best.Might try your thumb shift and see if it gets any better.

 

[brittanyhale]

City driving.That's the answer.Just keep your right foot from going thru the floor and hope for the best.Might try your thumb shift and see if it gets any better.

Thanks! I've switched to better quality gas (Shell 89) and I'm going to see if that helps. Then I'll try using the thumb shifter.

 

[4g63gst20]

Thanks! I've switched to better quality gas (Shell 89) and I'm going to see if that helps. Then I'll try using the thumb shifter.

The secret to getting good gas mileage on the auto is be light on the throttle. When I drive it my shifts are never over 2k rpm.
The harder you step on the gas the higher your shift points will be and use more gas. Right now I'm at 36 mpg city and freeway combined.

 

[joe truck driver]

maybe

According to the Milage Keeper app I'm getting 26 MPG
2013 RS auto HB, mostly city driving, 100% stock, cheap gas

Any suggestions for improvement?

lower your shift points..... your probably into the turbo by 1700. for mileage, I used to shift at 1500.

 

[The Champ]

Thanks! I've switched to better quality gas (Shell 89) and I'm going to see if that helps. Then I'll try using the thumb shifter.

Shell is a top tier fuel - so that's good. Here's a list of other top tier fuel providers around the U.S and Canada:

Top Tier Gasoline

Your car only needs 87 octane - higher octane will not improve fuel mileage or performance on a stock engine. All it does is increase your cost per mile driven.

 

[brittanyhale]

Hey guys I took your advice and now I'm getting 31-32 MPG!! Keeping it under 2k rpm is hard to get used to (sorry I couldn't do under 1.5k rpm), but it's paying off!! Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[greentib]

Going to work and back on a nice temp day,i run about 30 miles each way. 70 to 72 going to work, and 65ish going home. 3/4ths of it is highway. I get roughly 37 to 38 based on my calculations.

Was able to get 39 combined one week, but really had to try for that.

Iv got the 1.4

 

[Swordsmith]

Your car only needs 87 octane - higher octane will not improve fuel mileage or performance on a stock engine. All it does is increase your cost per mile driven.

This is generally true for most cars. Cars are designed to run with a certain minimum octane (in most cases, 87), and don't run any better or get better mpg with higher octane.

However, it is NOT true for the 1.4T in some Sonics, including all RS models.

The 1.4T is designed for 93 octane (or maybe even higher), and runs best and gets best MPG on that. It has a clever system which uses the knock sensor and retards timing until knock stops, allowing it to run on lower octane fuel. However, performance does definitely suffer, and many report also seeing worse MPG on lower octanes.

You'd also have to do the math, if your car does get better mpg, to determine if it is sufficiently better to end up getting more miles per dollar, because the higher octane gas costs more per gallon.

 

[The Champ]

Swordsmith

I have read that about the Sonic on this board and experimented with 87, 89 and 92 Octane (what is readily available to me locally) and in my personal experience found no noticeable difference in gas mileage or performance.

The price for 87 is currently $2.639, 89 is $2.789 and 92 is $3.099.

To cost justify the use of 92 I would need to increase my fuel mileage by at least 6 MPG.

Now with a custom tune designed to run on higher octane I fully believe that performance and mileage would change.

But the factory tune is designed for 87.

 

[ChicksHateMe]

I've tried changing to different octanes over the past year and a half to see if it would affect my MPG. I found that it was the same, or even worse in some trials.

I am wondering if it has some sort of memory for the timing retardation. So once it's "learned" how to keep it from knocking at 87 octane, it won't change the timings for higher octanes unless it is either reset, or used for a longer period.

Similar to the way the MPG calculation is where when you reset it, it's all over the place. But as the miles add up, it becomes more stable around an average MPG.

After a year and a half of driving it, I have a feeling it's pretty much set for 87 octane if it's something learned and memorized to prevent the knocking.

 

[joe truck driver]

M p g

If somebody is serious about fuel economy, just slowing down does more per dollar invested that anything you could do to a car or truck . The numbers I posted on fuelly, and here when there was an app, were done with my foot and cruise control...... ok, honorable mention to synthetic oil and manual transmission. I used lowest shift points I could do without causing delay in traffic, watching my speed, and no warm-ups. I used 87 octane fuel and bought wherever it made sense to do so( Kroger, Meijer, Speedway, Shell, Marathon, Pilot, BP), granted most of my driving was highway(90%), but it made a difference in the city too. The only thing I could say for cetane (I know this is diesel) or octane rating in fuel economy, is that it might help lower the shift points you could use with fuel phase retarding or detonation. I don't get that anyone was thinking in those terms yet. I'm no expert, but have some experience in trying to get fuel economy.

 

[psquare75]

Finally got to test this car out.
4K mile stock 1.8 LT 5spd.

I took a 450 mile round trip from SE MA up to the middle of NH.. 90% highway, two or three tolls, no real traffic.. Cruise at 72 max (I don't drive fast), but driving normal around town in the mountains up there.. anyway, reset the dash before I left to start the trip. came home.. 41.1 MPG. Wife's 5spd Spark averages ~43-44 MPG on the same trip. No complaints with my 1.8 at all.

 

[Emersonic]

Honestly I have no idea how you guys do it. I think mountains sometimes help with average mpgs...I know my truck did better in them than I ever get out here on the flat prairies.

I drove my 1.8 all summer - 4 months while the kid was back from university...and as an average, the best I could muster was 6.5l/100 over 10 tanks...which is 43 Imperial mpg...which works out to 36 US mpg...and I was driving like Joe Truck up top. Shifting at 2500 or less, and driving mostly 90 kmh (that's 55 mph to ya'all), taking it nice and easy (turns out it's kind of relaxing going to work slow too, I mean, what's the rush to get there!? ). Occasionally up to 100 kmh/60 mph. On that point I'll wholeheartedly agree with JTD that even 10 kmh (5-6 mph) slower makes a difference. I could drive "$5 more" on a tank of gas at 90-100 than if I went 100-110 kmh. Well worth it if you're filling up 3 times per month!

What I don't get is how anyone can get anywhere near 40's, and US mpg to boot, at anything north of 50 mph. At 70!? Not possible. I never did better than a 6.1l/100 (38 US mpg) granny shifting and going slow. :blankface: Oh well, I still like that car for what it is...and it's kinda a hoot to drive even if it's not the RS model I lust after.

 

[gsfisher13]

First 3 tanks with my used 2013 HB RS 1.4 turbo manual transmission, 36k miles
35mpg - 80% highway @ 70mph, 87 octane top tier fuel w/ethanol (it was closer to 37 until I had a little fun in the last 50 miles )
33mpg - 5% highway @ avg 30mph, 87 octane top tier fuel w/ethanol
33mpg - 5% highway @ avg 30mph, 91 octane top tier fuel w/o ethanol

interesting, no change between 2nd and 3rd tanks switching between 87 w/ethanol and 91 without. Very similar driving.

in progress...
36mpg - 5% highway @ avg 35mph, 91 octane top tier fuel w/o ethanol (babying the throttle), shifting before or near 2k rpm.

 

[whitesmoke]

you guys need to use 93 octane if you want mpg, timing tables change and increase volumetric efficiency, and forget speed, 2,350 is the optimum rpm for mpg

 

[mjd1001]

Through most of the Summer, I drove the Sonic Hatchback LTZ pretty much just for work. 80% highway miles...equal mix of 55mph and 65 mph limit...and I pretty much stayed right at the limit. Long stretches of flat land on Rural roads with the cruise on 55....some interstate at 65.

The trip computer and by-hand calcuation were pretty close. Weekly consistenet between 41-42mpg.

 

[Brandon1921]

So maybe I'm just Ken block in my neck of the woods but I can't pull above 30mpg in my man1.8 [emoji26]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChicksHateMe]

It's because your brake is ON!!! LOL!!! J/K...

I'm frustrated too about my MPG's. Maybe 2 - 4 tanks a year I get over 30 MPG. But those are usually the high highway tanks. I only have 9,700 on it over the last 2 years though, and the terrain around here is mostly hills and curves. Plus, I do drive slightly over the Limit most of the time. Love to play with the Sonic's power.

Overall though, I have to say it's close to what the sticker said (If I drive like a normal person). Even better than sticker if it's all highway.

 

[aslap]

41 mpg

Two consecutive 1K mile trips yielded 41 mpg. 2015, 1.4, manual sedan. Running most of the time at 70-75 with cruise on. Always using 93 octane.

Pure around town gets 30 mpg.

Completely stock car. Pretty new with only 4K miles on it. Fell and broke my hip a month ago and haven't driven the car in 4 weeks. Hopefully I'll get cleared to drive next week.

Tony

 

[ChicksHateMe]

I tried playing with Octane for Better MPG's and I didn't see any difference. I happened upon this show related to premium vs Regular and found it interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPPkPAbzwbU

I've only driven a few long distance 99% highway trips and I did notice I broke 40MPG on them, as long as they weren't in the mountains. With the way I drive, and mostly around town lately, I should be happy with my average. Sure beats my ole V8 Jeep.